Triassic Period Animals

If reading about prehistoric creatures fascinates you, then this article on the Triassic Period animals will definitely make for an interesting read.

AnimalSake Staff

It's very simple why kids are crazy about dinosaurs - dinosaurs are nature's Special Effects. They are the only real dragons. Kids love dragons. It's not just being weirdly shaped and being able to eat Buicks. It's that they are real.~ Robert T. Bakker

The Triassic Period was the first geological period of the Mesozoic Era, and it lasted from 250 million years ago till 200 million years ago. It was preceded by the Permian period, which was the last geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and was succeeded by the Jurassic Period. The Mesozoic Era was characterized by the emergence and development of the widest variety of dinosaurs on Earth among all prehistoric geological periods. Also, this was the era by the end of which the maximum number of prehistoric animal species became extinct from the face of our planet.

Triassic Period Climate

Studies by geologists and paleontologists have shown the average climatic conditions of the Triassic Period to have been on the hot and dry side. There are no signs that glaciers existed at either poles. Reddish-hued sedimentary rocks and water-soluble mineral evaporites abounded the Earth's surface and crust. During this period, there was only one huge terrestrial mass that was located along the median belt of the Earth, having the Equatorial latitude as the approximate center. The climate of the polar extremities of this super continent tended towards a somewhat moist and temperate environment.

This land mass has been named the Pangaea, meaning all the land, with reference to its singular mass that was so huge that it succeeded in limiting the climatically moderating effects of the global ocean - the singularly huge mass of water surrounding it. As a result, the overall climate remained continental in nature, with extreme seasonal variations. The summer was intensely hot whereas the winter was chilling. It is the temperate polar regions of this huge prehistoric landmass that encouraged the propagation and evolution of reptilian creatures and coniferous plants.

Animals and Plants Of this Period

The Triassic flora, as suggested by fossils and other evidences, was composed mostly of plant species belonging to the lycophyta, cycadophyta, ginkophyta, and pteridospermatophyta divisions of the plant kingdom, with seed-producing plants being dominant. The Triassic Period fauna included a large number of species of such life forms as prehistoric amphibians, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mollusks, mammals, fish, and synapsids. Most of our modern-day animals have descended from some of these creatures.

List of Animals that Lived at this Time

Check out the following list of some Triassic Age animals to get an insight into the vast diversity of the now extinct animals that composed the Triassic fauna.

Amphibians

Amphibamus

Plemmyradytes

Eoscopus

Platyrhinops

Georgenthalia

Pasawioops

Micropholis

Gerobatrachus

Limnerpeton

Aphaneramma

Batrachosuchus

Bothriceps

Keratobrachyops

Koolasuchus

Compsocerops

Pelorocephalus

Siderops

Capitosaurus

Cherninia

Cyclotosauraus

Deltasuarus

Eocaecilia

Eryosuchus

Gerrothorax

Koskinonodon

Kryostega

Laidleria

Paracyclotosaurus

Ferganobatrachus

Mastodonsaurus

Metoposaurus

Microposaurus

Parotosuchus

Pelorocephalus

Sclerothorax

Triadobatrachus

Uranocentrodon

Wantzosaurus

Watsonisuchus

Wetlugasaurus

Xenobrachyops

Crustaceans

Acanthinopus

Antrimpos

Ambilobeia

Cycleryon

Rosenfeldia

Eryon

Knebelia

Clytiella

Stenodactylina

Clytiopsis

Pustulina

Enoploclytia

Protoclytiopsis

Eryma

Palaeastacus

Galicia

Lissocardia

Longichela

Ifasya

Macropenaeus

Kazakarthrans

Satyrocaris

Leiothorax

Tetrachela

Fish

Acrodus

Beltanodus

Chanxingia

Dapedium

Edaphodon

Heliocorpion

Laugia

Mawsonia

Perleidus

Saurichthys

Sinosaurichthys

Thoracopterus

Whiteia

Xenacanthus

Zeuchthiscus

Aellopos

Birgeria

Chinlea

Dicellopyge

Hybodus

Lepidotes

Pholidophorus

Semionotus

Ticinepomis

Wimania

Alcoveria

Cleithrolepis

Diplurus

Leptolepis

Listracanthus

Piveteauia

Arganodus

Coelacanthus

Axelia

Indocoelacanthus

Asiatoceratodus

Insects

Mendozachorista

Mesotitan

Mesotitanodes

Ultratitan

Prototitan

Paratitan

Gigatitan

Nanotitan

Ootitan

Mammals

Adelobasileus

Eozostrodon

Haramiya

Megazostrodon

Morganucodon

Sinoconodon

Mollusks

Araxoceras

Bellorophon

Ceratites

Daonella

Gervillaria

Orthoceras

Pseudotemperoceras

Solenomorpha

Whiteavesia

Aviculopecten

Claraia

Oxytoma

Reptiles

Arctosaurus

Bobosaurus

Crosbysaurus

Czatkoweila

Dinocephalosaurus

Dromomeron

Erythrosuchus

Euparkeria

Fodonyx

Gwyneddosaurus

Helveticosaurus

Hyperodapedon

Hypuronector

Icarosaurus

Koilamasuchus

Kuehneosaurus

Lagerpeton

Lariosaurus

Macrocnemus

Megalanacosaurus

Nectosaurus

Nothosaurus

Ornithosuchus

Pachypleurosaurus

Phonodus

Quianosuchus

Riojasuchus

Saltopus

Tricuspisaurus

Uatchitodon

Vallesaurus

Yonghesuchus

Synapsids

Bienotherium

Chiniquodon

Diademodon

Ecteninion

Galesaurus

Hahnia

Ischigualastia

Jachaleria

Kannameyeria

Lystrosaurus

Massetognathus

Oligokyphus

Prozostrodon

Rabidosaurus

Stahleckeria

Traversodon

Triassic Period animals include the likes of Agrosaurus, Isanosaurus, Plateosaurus, Melanosaurus, and Eoraptor, which are some of the major dinosaurs of this time. As many as 300 different types of dinosaurs and other animal life forms existed in this period, including mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and others. Most of these life forms are further classified into various different species, taking the count to somewhere around a couple of thousand. The lists above mostly enumerates the generic varieties of life forms under each class of animals.